ABANDONING APPLEWORKS

Databases

The most problematic area of conversion from AppleWorks is databases.
The database module in AppleWorks is far more powerful than it looks at
first sight, allowing the full range of field types - text, numbers,
dates, calculation and so on - and multiple highly customisable layouts
using a graphic interface. It's possible to run large and complex
databases easily: its main restriction is that it is a flat-file, not
relational, database, which may limit it for business users.

LibreOffice can now open
at least some Database documents, which it does in the form of a
spreadsheet. In order to transfer a Database into other programs you
have to save it as ASCII text (or select all and copy your records and
paste into a plain text document, which comes to the same thing).
Obviously in the process all layouts, text formatting and calculations
will be lost. There is no workaround for this: you can transfer data
but you will have to build the database itself again from scratch.

There is really only one choice as a replacement: FileMaker
Pro, now in version 15 and requiring OSX 10.10 minimum ($329 basic),
which
is pretty well the industry standard; though another possibility is 4D
which is highly powerful and complex ($389 basic, rising rapidly for
advanced versions) - I've not looked at it in detail but it would seem
to present a very steep learning curve including SQL. There are some
Unix-based systems
which are difficult to understand and use: and the free Office programs
OpenOffice.org
and its close relation NeoOffice
both have much the same
database module, which is again difficult to use and does not offer
anything like the same flexibility with layouts/reports.

Provue have updated their older Panorama and Paronama Sheets databases to a new version, Panorama X. It runs on OSX 10.9 and higher and has a wide range of facilities. Pricing is based on usage, ranging from zero if you don't use it to $15 per month.

iData3
and its update iData Pro 4 is a basic but reasonably flexible
database: v3 will run on 10.5 up, v4 requires 10.7 up; it's $69.95 and
there is a version
for iOS. There is a simplified 'Lite'
version for $29.95. Both can be used in a trial version for 30 days
of actual use.

Tap Forms
($39.99) is a multi-featured database, though apparently with some
limitations according to user reviews. It is only available from the
Mac App Store (OSX 10.9 required) and there is no free trial.

FileMaker's simple database, Bento, has now been withdrawn from sale. Records,
from Push Popcorn, has some similarities with Bento, but is more
powerful and flexible (though with nowhere near the power of Filemaker
Pro, of course). However it cannot import records from Bento or other
programs. It requires OSX 10.11 and is available from the Mac App Store at $9.99; there is a 30-day free
trial from their website.

For serious users, FileMaker Pro is the most obvious option. Its main
disadvantage is that it is expensive; and being designed for business
use it is very complex and presents a steep learning curve. However,
being widely used in business (and available for Windows as well as
Mac) there is no likelihood of it following AppleWorks into the
'end-of-life' abyss. It offer many more facilities for those who want
them, including web usage, very high configurability, accounts with
multiple users, relational databases using multiple tables.